Conceptual illustration
Conceptual illustration At the beginning of 2016, many illustration magazines and blogs were touting this as being a big year for merged mediums and flat design. As far back as 2015, sites were discussing the use of metaphor in editorial illustration as an emerging trend. The overall take here was that conceptual illustration would become a big deal, and that’s proven true as 2016 draws to a close. Some illustrators weave these trends together, producing bold, flat graphics that rely on visual puns and often an ironic sense of humour to get their ideas and themes across. Such an approach results in punchy, eye-catching designs that work equally well in poster, packaging and editorial illustration and design. Others have developed keen wit, using merged mediums that mix photography and illustration to produce images that work in a variety of contexts, including their expressive work. Three such illustrators who have had a great year are Magoz, Aad Goudappel and Christoph Niemann.
Magoz Magoz considers himself a “nomadic illustrator”. Born in Barcelona but currently living in Helsinki (as of writing – he moves on average twice a year), Magoz uses the poetry of metaphor to create minimalistic, striking images for his clients. They are always flat, lacking outlines or gradients, and always pack a humorous punch. He often employs optical illusion, a pop-art sensibility that gives his images a clever double-meaning, distilling editorial ideas into simplistic yet nuanced designs. Much of his work centres around the trials of modern life – characters become entangled in telephone wires representing communication problems, a worker’s tie becomes his boss berating him, an animated intern types and reads papers with handcuffed arms. He has illustrated pieces on sexism and violence against women, corruption and media censorship. His approach to these tough subjects is inclusive and draws the reader in – the humour is ironic, allowing him to treat the subjects with care, but the playfulness is endearing.
This work for Causette Magazine, entitled ‘Sexism’, is about sexist chivalry. Magoz illustrates a couple walking together, their arms around each other. However, the man’s arm snakes and wraps around the woman. There is no suggestion of aggression or violence here, which finely illustrates the point about sexist chivalry. The man likely isn’t aware of his behaviour and the woman isn’t resisting, although her head is down slightly. He communicates all of this in flat shapes and only four colours, the juxtaposition of blue and pink adding to the theme. As with many modern illustrators, Magoz diversifies his work – as well as producing illustrations for the likes of The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times, he also sells prints and silkscreened books and animates his work. Magoz started out producing digital magazines on illustration with his friends, and during that time he created illustrations as well as interviewing other illustrators. He credits this with the development of his skills and spent a lot of time theorising about illustration, which is why his work tends towards an intellectual style. On top of that, Magoz is generous with his time. He regularly posts with advice and tips on breaking into freelance illustration and is currently setting up a workshop course. He also gives advice on productivity.
Aad Goudappel Aad Goudappel is an illustrator based in Rotterdam. Like Magoz, his works employs bold flat shapes with no line work or strokes, leading to “mildly alienating images (that) often contain multiple intellectual or emotional layers”. The visual metaphor he uses results in images ranging from the humorous like ‘Ballet’, with a massive gorilla that has dainty legs and ballet pumps, to the more hard-hitting like ‘Multi problem families’, where multi-headed Hydra wraps itself around a mash-up of the universal symbols of male and female.
This image is from a poster for the Hamburg Playhouse’ ‘Oedipus’. A crowned man carries a large breast on his back, slyly portraying not only the play’s mythical king of Thebes but also accommodating Freud’s later work on the ‘Oedipus Complex’ which might be more familiar to a modern audience. Much of his work is multi-layered and often has a dark emotional core. Goudappel worked for many years as an illustrator building his style and client base before an opportunity to display work in the Spotlight section of 3X3 Magazine propelled him to success. The diversity of his subjects and willingness to tackle a variety of themes has led to his work appearing in The Wall Street Journal, Fortune Magazine and WIRED, as well as bringing him numerous awards.
Christoph Niemann Finally, Christoph Niemann takes a different approach. While still engaging humour as a tool for communicating complex ideas, Niemann uses the merged mediums of illustration and photography, with often surprising results. Whether inking large-scale humans bounding across cityscapes or turning photographs of crumpled socks into dinosaurs with the addition of a couple of brushstrokes, his is a different kind of visual pun, where the thrill lies in the optical illusion that results from transforming one object into another. Like Magoz, Niemann has diverse skills including graphic design and has co-authored children’s books. He is intrigued by imperfection in objects and enjoys coming up with surprising juxtapositions and compositions that are driven by a sense of fun.
His work here for a The New Yorker cover references Gertrude Stein’s poetic fragment “A rose is a rose is a rose”. The line represents Stein’s approach to the essential nature of things, and yet here Niemann makes a crafty comment on it by using four images, each with an illustrated vase, showing a pink square of paper folded in an origami style. In the last image, a photo of an actual rose substitutes the paper one. The simplicity of the image belies the fact that it could be taken as either sympathetic or oppositional to Stein’s approach, leaving the reader to muse on the meaning. All three illustrators seem to enjoy that approach. Even when the subject matter is darker, their work benefits from the joy of that “A-ha!” moment from the audience. Visual puns and metaphors work by providing us with the pieces to put together ourselves, making us as viewers the final crucial element in their work. Conceptual illustration flips cliché on its head, avoids the safe option, and brings the viewer into the work. The moment of completion is an intellectual one – we share in the punchline or, in the subtlest of these works, find an even deeper truth revealed. The flat images and bright colours pop off the page, belying the complexities at work. It’s that combination that makes these three illustrators and their peers in such high demand. For editorial work, in particular, they have both aesthetic and intellectual appeal. It’s easy to see why conceptual illustration would be attractive to thoughtful and creative illustrators. For creators who enjoy the theory of illustration, who take a philosophical approach and who have an intellectual interest in the form, producing work that is tightly rendered and which values clarity, both aesthetically and intellectually, conceptual illustration allows them to be thoughtful in their process. For editors, it makes sense to value conceptual illustration. Editorial art should add to an article. It should not be surplus, or merely decorative, but instead should condense the ideas of the work down into a form that is easily digestible for the reader. The best editorial illustration also adds an extra dimension to the ideas discussed in the piece. These three illustrators exemplify this approach.
Magoz Magoz considers himself a “nomadic illustrator”. Born in Barcelona but currently living in Helsinki (as of writing – he moves on average twice a year), Magoz uses the poetry of metaphor to create minimalistic, striking images for his clients. They are always flat, lacking outlines or gradients, and always pack a humorous punch. He often employs optical illusion, a pop-art sensibility that gives his images a clever double-meaning, distilling editorial ideas into simplistic yet nuanced designs. Much of his work centres around the trials of modern life – characters become entangled in telephone wires representing communication problems, a worker’s tie becomes his boss berating him, an animated intern types and reads papers with handcuffed arms. He has illustrated pieces on sexism and violence against women, corruption and media censorship. His approach to these tough subjects is inclusive and draws the reader in – the humour is ironic, allowing him to treat the subjects with care, but the playfulness is endearing.
This work for Causette Magazine, entitled ‘Sexism’, is about sexist chivalry. Magoz illustrates a couple walking together, their arms around each other. However, the man’s arm snakes and wraps around the woman. There is no suggestion of aggression or violence here, which finely illustrates the point about sexist chivalry. The man likely isn’t aware of his behaviour and the woman isn’t resisting, although her head is down slightly. He communicates all of this in flat shapes and only four colours, the juxtaposition of blue and pink adding to the theme. As with many modern illustrators, Magoz diversifies his work – as well as producing illustrations for the likes of The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times, he also sells prints and silkscreened books and animates his work. Magoz started out producing digital magazines on illustration with his friends, and during that time he created illustrations as well as interviewing other illustrators. He credits this with the development of his skills and spent a lot of time theorising about illustration, which is why his work tends towards an intellectual style. On top of that, Magoz is generous with his time. He regularly posts with advice and tips on breaking into freelance illustration and is currently setting up a workshop course. He also gives advice on productivity.
Aad Goudappel Aad Goudappel is an illustrator based in Rotterdam. Like Magoz, his works employs bold flat shapes with no line work or strokes, leading to “mildly alienating images (that) often contain multiple intellectual or emotional layers”. The visual metaphor he uses results in images ranging from the humorous like ‘Ballet’, with a massive gorilla that has dainty legs and ballet pumps, to the more hard-hitting like ‘Multi problem families’, where multi-headed Hydra wraps itself around a mash-up of the universal symbols of male and female.
This image is from a poster for the Hamburg Playhouse’ ‘Oedipus’. A crowned man carries a large breast on his back, slyly portraying not only the play’s mythical king of Thebes but also accommodating Freud’s later work on the ‘Oedipus Complex’ which might be more familiar to a modern audience. Much of his work is multi-layered and often has a dark emotional core. Goudappel worked for many years as an illustrator building his style and client base before an opportunity to display work in the Spotlight section of 3X3 Magazine propelled him to success. The diversity of his subjects and willingness to tackle a variety of themes has led to his work appearing in The Wall Street Journal, Fortune Magazine and WIRED, as well as bringing him numerous awards.
Christoph Niemann Finally, Christoph Niemann takes a different approach. While still engaging humour as a tool for communicating complex ideas, Niemann uses the merged mediums of illustration and photography, with often surprising results. Whether inking large-scale humans bounding across cityscapes or turning photographs of crumpled socks into dinosaurs with the addition of a couple of brushstrokes, his is a different kind of visual pun, where the thrill lies in the optical illusion that results from transforming one object into another. Like Magoz, Niemann has diverse skills including graphic design and has co-authored children’s books. He is intrigued by imperfection in objects and enjoys coming up with surprising juxtapositions and compositions that are driven by a sense of fun.
His work here for a The New Yorker cover references Gertrude Stein’s poetic fragment “A rose is a rose is a rose”. The line represents Stein’s approach to the essential nature of things, and yet here Niemann makes a crafty comment on it by using four images, each with an illustrated vase, showing a pink square of paper folded in an origami style. In the last image, a photo of an actual rose substitutes the paper one. The simplicity of the image belies the fact that it could be taken as either sympathetic or oppositional to Stein’s approach, leaving the reader to muse on the meaning. All three illustrators seem to enjoy that approach. Even when the subject matter is darker, their work benefits from the joy of that “A-ha!” moment from the audience. Visual puns and metaphors work by providing us with the pieces to put together ourselves, making us as viewers the final crucial element in their work. Conceptual illustration flips cliché on its head, avoids the safe option, and brings the viewer into the work. The moment of completion is an intellectual one – we share in the punchline or, in the subtlest of these works, find an even deeper truth revealed. The flat images and bright colours pop off the page, belying the complexities at work. It’s that combination that makes these three illustrators and their peers in such high demand. For editorial work, in particular, they have both aesthetic and intellectual appeal. It’s easy to see why conceptual illustration would be attractive to thoughtful and creative illustrators. For creators who enjoy the theory of illustration, who take a philosophical approach and who have an intellectual interest in the form, producing work that is tightly rendered and which values clarity, both aesthetically and intellectually, conceptual illustration allows them to be thoughtful in their process. For editors, it makes sense to value conceptual illustration. Editorial art should add to an article. It should not be surplus, or merely decorative, but instead should condense the ideas of the work down into a form that is easily digestible for the reader. The best editorial illustration also adds an extra dimension to the ideas discussed in the piece. These three illustrators exemplify this approach.
